Diane looked away.
She left.
That evening, Ben called.
“I want to contact Claire, Liza.”
“Why?”
“Because I should’ve done it years ago.”
“Are you doing this because you think it’ll bring me home?”
That evening, Ben called.
“No.”
“Then do the right thing even if I never come back.”
Ben wrote to Claire without my help. He admitted he’d failed her twice, blamed no one else, and said she owed him nothing.
Days passed.
Ben began seeing Evie for short visits we agreed on. He changed diapers, held her when she fussed, and left when the visit ended.
Days passed.
Then Diane tried to rewrite the story.
At a family gathering, I heard her tell two relatives that Ben had made “one mistake when he was young” and I was refusing to let the past stay buried.
I walked over.
“That’s not what happened.”
Diane stiffened.
